Clockwork (A Homestuck Novel)
by nothingperson
Summary: Even though Priya and her friends made it out of their doomed-from-the-start Sburb session alive, there's still more challenges and obstacles they still have to face, with rivalries, both romantic and not, threatening to destroy the team on the eve of their biggest battle. The clock of fate is ticking, and they're running out of time...


Chapter 1

_I shouldn't be alive. And yet, my survival haunts me every second that I am awake. _

I giggled self-consciously as I erased those two sentences, leaving me with a blinking cursor and a blank screen. Full of possibilities, I liked to think. But that possibility… It was a little too candid for my tastes right now.

"Where did that come from?" I muttered as my hands hovered over my dirty, smudged keyboard. But that didn't matter. The masses didn't want to hear my inner problems, they wanted to hear the truth. They wanted to know how we survived. I started again.

_My name is Priya Jaye, and I am currently on a meteor provided to us by the game, Sburb. If you're reading this, then you know what that means. Or maybe you don't. That's okay too. I will explain in due time. But first, let me elaborate more. _

_I am writing this log on my laptop, which I intended to send out into the Furthest Ring when our journey is complete. What journey, you ask? What's the Furthest Ring? And what do you mean by we? _

_I will explain that too._

_You see, my four friends and I, John Egbert, Dave Strider, Rose Lalonde, and Jade Harley played a game called Sburb on John's 13__th__birthday. But this was not a normal game, for this game destroyed planet Earth as we know it, sending it to its fiery doom by meteors. _

_I would like to apologize for unknowingly contributing to the doomsday of my planet. _

_But we survived, due to the game. We entered on our respective planets, and we were supposed to beat the game, stop Skaia's Reckoning, and create a universe while repopulating our own human race._

_But we failed that too. _

_Our universe had a cancer, Bec Noir, which stopped us from ever even thinking of beating our session. This was no one's fault, but a mere folly by the creators of our, which I mean my, universe, which we forgave. I will introduce them later. There was no way of winning the game, so we did the only thing we could think of. _

_We erased it._

_We erased our session by activing the Scratch, providing another chance for the human race to survive. But this is not our battle. Not anymore. Yes, we play a key role in helping, but the focus switches to four new protagonists, who now bear the heavy burden of keeping our species from extinction._

_I would now like to take a moment to apologize to our Alpha counterparts for shoving this impossible task onto their shoulders. This was the only way. _

_But now, you ask, if your session, and thereby your version of the universe was erased, then how are you writing this log?_

_That's an easy question to answer. We escaped. John and Jade are flying through the Golden Yard, meeting us in the new Alpha session, while the others and I are flying through the Furthest Ring on the meteor that I mentioned before. I should probably now introduce my fellow passengers on this journey and stop putting them off. I previously mentioned Rose and Dave, so you know who they are. We are also joined by the Mayor, who I assume is from the planet Derse due to his black shell-skin-thing. And finally, the rest of our crew is made up of Trolls. They are my universe's creators, but they didn't win their game either._

_I am beginning to believe that it is nearly impossible to do so._

_The Trolls come from a planet called Alternia, and they played their own session of Sburb, titled Sgurb, like us, with 12 players. The only difference? They almost won. But before they could claim their prize, before they could step into their new roles as the gods of our universe, they had to go into hiding, on this very meteor. _

_Bec Noir had entered their session too, and forced them to retreat for their own survival. _

_While we were playing our own session, our 12 predecessors hid on the meteor, able to view our own game, and the rest of our timelines. This caused a few bumps and bruises along the way, but we eventually banded together for the common good. After all, we had the same goal: to defeat Lord English from destroying all of reality._

_But I am getting ahead of myself here, just like I always do. Let me introduce the trolls, just like I did with everyone else. There used to be 12 of them, but like I said, there were some bumps and bruises that I am not sure I'm qualified to expose. There are only 7 left. Their names? Vriska Serket, Gamzee Makara, Kanaya Maryam, Terezi Pyrope, Aradia Megido, Sollux Captor, and Karkat Vantas. Only 5 of them came on the trip with us; Aradia and Sollux stayed behind, providing us much-needed boost to get us going. They are all brave and heroic in their own ways, some more than others, but all in all, they can all be a little bit bitchy at times. _

_Sorry to smash your romanticized versions of them as valiant saviors in your head, but we all need to break the shining glass at times. I can only hope that you do not see me like that in your head as well. I am no hero, nor a savior._

_I was never supposed to be in the game in the first place. _

A faint buzz interrupted me from my briefing, and I stopped relaying our experiences in the log. It was coming from the Pesterchum server. I switched over from my Wordsmith word processor and onto Pesterchum, where a message from one of my buddies was waiting anxiously.

turntechGodhead: Hey Pri, we need your help. It's an emergency.

dulcetDramatist: What's the problem?

TG: I'll tell you when you get there. Just come now.

DD: Correct me if I'm wrong, but I assume you mean Can Town?

TG: Bingo. Come now.

I sighed, snapping my faithful laptop shut and placing it on my bed covers. Standing up and stretching, I pondered whether I should go and see why Dave needed my help. It would be waste to leave my comfortable room for nothing… but I should still go. After all, it could be a real emergency. Walking across my room and opening the door, I prepared myself for craziness to erupt around me.

_One, two, three! _I counted silently as I slipped out of my room and closed the door. But to my surprise, the only noise I heard was my door creaking shut and the faint sound of talking coming from another closed down door the hall. Karkat's rom-coms, probably. But no other noise... That was a first. Even when it's almost completely quiet, I hear a faint honk here or there from Gamzee, which nearly scares the crap out of me sometimes. But today, it was almost silent. And it was weird. I walked down the hall, around corners, and through pathways, barely lit except for a few lightbulbs here and there. It was too easy to get lost here if you didn't know where you were going or what you were doing.

Needless to say, I was terribly lost for the first few months.

But that was then, and now I knew most of the meteor like the back of my hand. Including where Can Town was, in a little alcove just off of the common room. Even as I travelled through the rest of the meteor on my way to Can Town, I didn't see or hear anyone else. "Everyone else is probably holed up in their rooms, just like I should be," I muttered to myself. "Or all in the common room," I corrected myself as I entered into the chaos. Terezi and Vriska were arguing, probably because Vriska had hidden all of Terezi's chalk again.

"Give it back!" Terezi said, exasperated.  
"I don't have them." Vriska smirked, clearly enjoying the situation. As I walked past them, I mentally noted to find the chalk later and resolve the situation before it got out of hand. Kanaya and Rose were staging their own fashion show in the middle of the room, with Rose as the model and Kanaya fixing up any loose ends.

"How's the dress coming?" I asked Kanaya as I passed her.

"Almost there. I just have to fix the stitching on the bodice," she mumbled through a mouthful of pins, painstakingly sewing neat stiches on the jade floor-length dress.

"Great. How are you doing Rose?" I asked her.

"Okay." A small smile played on her lips. "But _someone _promised that we were supposed to be done an hour ago."

"I am finishing up! You cannot rush Genius."

"I'll get you a snack." I vowed as I made my way through the rest of the room.

"Thank you Priya!"

I smiled, shaking my head. Looks like business as usual for everyone, it seems. I've gotten used to it. Finally reaching Can Town, I stopped to assess the damage.

Nothing.

Just Dave and the Mayor talking quietly in the corner while laying out town buildings on the grid I helped them create. What was going on?

"Looks like everything is fine here." I crossed my arms.

Dave looked up at the sound of my voice. "Pri, you came." He said, his mouth forming a smile for a millisecond until he saw how aggravated I was. "Oh, about that-"

"You lied. There was no emergency." I frowned.

"There is one, actually." He held up a cube made out of cans. "What color do you think we should paint the library? I'm thinking red, but the Mayor is pushing for blue."

"Really? That's the emergency?" Now I was getting upset. "You could've messaged me that on Pesterchum, or bring it up when I came out to get breakfast earlier. Instead, you had me make the trek through most of the meteor just to ask me which _color_ I prefer?"

"And have you stay in your room all day, just like you normally do?" Dave raised an eyebrow. At least, I think he did. I really couldn't tell with those big sunglasses of his. "The Mayor and I had a talk about you, and we're worried. At least Karkat comes out of his room often. You stay in there for hours."

I sighed, frustrated. "Is that true, Mayor?" He nodded furiously, adjusting his mayoral sash across his tiny body.

"See?" Dave said smugly.

"What about Gamzee? He never comes out of hiding!" I countered.

"That's because Kanaya wants to hunt him down. Also, the dude's weird. I haven't seen him since we first started this trip."

I sighed. "Fine. I pick… Red."

"Sweet." Dave picked up a paintbrush and started painting.

"Am I done here?" I tapped my Converse-clad foot. "I don't think I'm needed anymore."

"Nah." Dave looked up again. "You're always needed, Pri. Also, happy fifteenth."

"You remembered my birthday?" I said, surprised. I haven't mentioned it in a while, what with everything that was going on…. "I thought everyone forgot."

"You did mention a couple of times on Pesterchum. Of course I was going to remember." He went back to his painting, and the Mayor nodded empathically, giving me a thumbs up. His way of saying happy birthday, I guess.

"Thanks." I smiled, tucking a stray lock of my fuzzy cinnamon hair behind my ear. Someone remembered my birthday. It felt… nice. "But it isn't necessary. It's just a normal day."

"Nonsense." Dave said. "It's the day you were born, or I guess created, thanks to John. That provides a reason to celebrate."

"What am I going to do? Have a party? I don't think so." I sat down next to him and started painting another can.

"I don't know. Maybe we can all get together and watch one of Karkat's rom-coms." Dave said solemnly. A beat of silence, then we both started laughing.

"I don't even think he'll let us lay a finger on a single one!" I wiped a tear from my eyes. "But it's a nice thought. I'll just probably spend the rest of the day in my room, writing."

Dave's mouth dipped into a frown. "Why don't you hang out with anyone else? You just shut yourself in your room all day. It's not healthy."

"Who am I going to hang out with?" I gestured to the chaos unfolding around us. "Everyone's always busy."

"Terezi?" Dave offered.

"Remember I tried, and we both got angry over our drawing techniques?"

"Vriska?"

"You know I could never do that." I allowed myself to smile a bit. "We would drive each other crazy."

"Kanaya? Rose?"

"They're too busy with each other. It's okay." I said. "Plus, I really don't feel like posing as a mannequin today."

"Ouch!" we heard Rose yelp.

"Sorry!" Kanaya apologized, immediately taking out the pin that stabbed her.

"See?" I turned to Dave.

His golden eyebrows knit together, and he frowned. "I'm going out on a limb here, but what about Karkat?" My paint brush froze, dripping red paint onto the floor. "Pri, you okay?" Dave asked, noticing.

"Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine." I said as nonchalantly as I could, carefully determining what actions I should take next. "Why would you say that?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "Maybe you guys could bond over his terrible rom-coms and meddling in other people's love lives?"

I silently exhaled, grateful for a way out. "I only set you up with Jade once!"

"So did he, that's what I'm saying."

"Well, I came up with the idea first, and only because I thought you guys would be cute together." I defended. "That was years before Sburb."

"Exactly. I don't know why you won't talk to the guy. He's honestly not as bad as I first thought." Dave offered. What was I supposed to say? That I didn't talk to him on purpose, but for the opposite reason that he thinks? That it wasn't true that I didn't like Karkat, but the other way around?

"I don't know." I finally decided. "We just never… talked." _Because I'm too much of a coward. _I added silently.

"Whatever floats your boat." Dave shrugged. "It was just an idea."

"Besides," I continued, "I like hanging out with you and the Mayor."

Dave's famous millisecond smile returned as the Mayor gave me a thumbs up. One day I will get that boy to smile fully, even if it's the last thing I do. That, and take off his "ironic" sunglasses. "Thanks. We like you hanging out with us too."

Against my better judgment, I sighed, then added, "Maybe I'll stay here for a while and help you guys out with Can Town."

To my surprise, Dave gave me a half-smile. Maybe it was easier to get him to smile than I thought. "That would be great, Pri. Thanks."


End file.
